Lessons Learned

A Leader in Advocacy

By Drew Gieseke Photos courtesy of Ladue school District

Kisha Lee made history earlier this year. During the Ladue Schools Board of Education’s annual reorganization in April, the board voted unanimously to name Lee as its president. For the first time in Ladue Schools’ history, the 4,200 students and more than 575 faculty and staff are now led by an African American, according to a press release.

It’s an honor that Lee doesn’t take for granted.

“My grandmother was a domestic worker in this community, where I now serve as president of the board of education,” she says. “Representation matters.”

In this role, Lee is tasked with facilitating public board meetings and ensuring productive discussions with members of the Ladue community. She holds both master’s and bachelor’s degrees in public policy and administration from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Her instruction includes emphases on nonprofit management and leadership, along with extensive research in public education and social work.

Lee served for five years on the board before being named president, gaining vital experience that helped prepare her to step into the role at a critical time.

A Gallup poll released in mid-July showed that only 28 percent of Americans say they have a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in public schools – a figure that news website Axios reported is the second-lowest on record. Between pandemic stressors and political posturing that puts publicly funded school budgets at risk year after year, Lee says that educators are under attack.

“We must support our educators and advocate for their needs in the region and across the state, especially given the nationwide teacher shortage and educators who left the field without any pipeline to backfill the vacant positions,” Lee says. “We can no longer only be consumed with what is happening in our own backyard but must be concerned with the needs of the region and the state because, at the end of the day, our students and educators across the state suffer.”

Lee wants to inspire change and give the next generation hope for the future. That goal reaches far beyond professional ambition. As a single mother of two, Lee has navigated the school district alongside her children – the good, the bad and the ugly.

“My children found their place in Ladue Schools and successfully graduated while making friends and participating in sports and other extracurricular activities,” Lee says. “It was not always a welcoming environment for African Americans in a predominantly white, wealthy community.”

These challenges inspired Lee to remain actively involved with the school district beyond her kids’ time in school. She says that by allying with the white community, she has helped other families avoid discriminatory encounters faced by her own family.

No matter which battle she’s fighting, Lee has and always will be advocating for all children: “I offer my unwavering support to undergird our students and guide them as they navigate the educational process in Ladue Schools and beyond,” she says. “I unequivocally want every student to know that they possess the ability to change the world regardless of their race, religion, gender identity or sexual orientation.”

Ladue Schools, 9703 Conway Road, St. Louis, 314-994-7080, ladueschools.net